Beer Guide to the 1970s (part twenty-seven)

We're getting close to the end of the independent breweries. Just a couple of dozen left to go. Then we'll just have the homebrew pubs and national brewers to go. So another 20 parts or so to go. Lots for you to look forward to.

Two of today's trio of breweries are still going strong - Robinson and St. Austell. Two solid regional brewers with decent-sized tied estates. Brewers which are still pursuing the vertically-integrated approach. Back in the 1970s, pretty much all brewers, large or small operated that way. Other than Guinness, obviously. The one brewery in today's set which has closed - Ruddle - abandonned this system in the 1970s. Which is probably why they no longer exist.


Robinson
Stockport,
Greater Manchester.

Founded:    1838
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    318

One of the largest independent brewers in the Manchester area, Robinson endeared themselves to CAMRA by serving cask beer in all their tied houses. Their beers were pretty solid and enjoyed a good reputation. I quite liked them, too.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1042	well hopped
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1035
Best Mild	Mild	draught	1032	Light Mild
Old Tom	Old Ale	draught	1079	not too sweet
Cock Robin	Pale Ale	keg
Einhorn Lager	Lager	keg	1035.9
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		stronger
Party Brew	Pale Ale	can		Bitter in a 4-pint can
Old Tom	Old Ale	bottled	1079
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Unicorn Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet

Ruddle
Langham,
Rutland.

Founded:    1858
Closed:            1998
Tied houses:    44

One of the early cult cask breweries, Ruddle took a rather unusual tack. In 1978, they sold off all but one of their tied houses to concentrate on the supermarket trade. A brave move, which ultimately didn’t work out. The brewery was bought by Grand Metropolitan in 1986, who sold them on to Grolsch in 1992. Who in turn sold them to Morland in 1997. I never cared for either of their Bitters. County was far too sweet and heavy. I never understood why some drinkers ratted it so highly.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1032	agreeable
County	Pale Ale	draught	1050	exceptionally strong and well hopped
Barley Wine	Barley Wine	draught		seasonal
Classic	Pale Ale	keg	1050	kegged County
Keg	Pale Ale	keg		stronger and hoppier than many keg beers
Bitter	Pale Ale	keg	1032	kegged Bitter
Mild	Mild	keg		Dark Mild full bodied
Langdorf	Lager	keg
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Export	Pale Ale	bottled
County	Pale Ale	bottled
Rutland Ale	Barley Wine	bottled
Bob Brown	Brown Ale	bottled
Strong Brown	Brown Ale	bottled	1046

St. Austell
St. Austell,
Cornwell

Founded:    1860
Closed:      still open
Tied houses:    132

One of the few independent breweries in Cornwall, St. Austell’s tied estate was mostly in the Southeast of the county. They served cask in a little more than half of their pubs. Unlike some brewers in the Southwest, they did still brew a Mild. Though it was pretty rare, especially in cask form. I can only remember coming across their beer at festivals. I thought they were OK, but nothing special.
 

beer	style	format	OG	description
BB	Pale Ale	draught	1031	good malty flavour
Hick's Special	Pale Ale	draught	1050	rich and distinctive
XXXX	Mild	draught	1032	Dark Mild
St. Austell Extra	Pale Ale	keg	1037	introduced in the early 1950s, filtered but unpasteurised
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Duchy Special Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Smuggler's Ale	Strong Ale	bottled
Prince's Ale	Barley Wine	bottled		first brewed for Prince Charles' 21st birthday. One of the strongest beers in the country

 

Let's Brew - 1906 Drybrough X Stout

Drybrough’s records from this period are a nightmare. There’s some weird gyling and blending going on. The only brews I can make any sense of are some Pale Ale parti-gyles and a couple of X Ale parti-gyles.

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure that there wasn’t some sort of blending going on here. I’m just assuming the three gyles were left as fermented.

Usually, I’d assume X meant Mild. Not sure that’s the case here. For a start, the hopping rate is higher than for the Pale Ales. 7.5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt compared to just 5 lbs. Then I noticed the No. 4 invert and black malt. These are clearly Stouts.

The first thing that strikes me is how weak this beer is. Weaker even than Table Beer.  Not really “stout” at all.

It’s a pretty complicated recipe. Especially in the sugars. Where there are three inverts, caramel and hone.  The latter is an unusual one. You see it in recipes for domestic brewers, but not for commercial brewers.

There were four types of hops. Three English, two from the 1905 harvest and one from 1903. The fourth type was Californian from 1906.
 

1906 Drybrough X
pale malt	4.25 lb	66.88%
black malt	0.15 lb	2.36%
flaked rice	0.50 lb	7.87%
flaked maize	0.33 lb	5.19%
No. 1 invert sugar	0.1875 lb	2.95%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.25 lb	3.93%
No. 4 invert sugar	0.1875 lb	2.95%
honey	0.25 lb	3.93%
caramel 500 SRM	0.25 lb	3.93%
Fuggles 120 mins	0.25 oz
Cluster 120 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1030
FG	1011
ABV	2.51
Apparent attenuation	63.33%
IBU	37
SRM	19
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	167º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part twenty-six)

This must be one of my longest series of posts ever. And I'm not even close to being finished. So much fun for us to look forward to.

None of today's trio of breweries is still operating. Two were closed by Greene King and one by Carlsberg. I guess that tells us something about what's been going on in UK brewing in the last couple of decades. I wonder which company closed the most UK breweries?  Bass Charrington and Whitbread must be somewhere near the top of the list.



Rayment
Furneaux Pelham,
Hertfordshire.

Founded:    1820
Closed:       1987
Tied houses:    31

A subsidiary of Greene King. But the story is a bit more complicated. It was bought by a member of the King family in 1888 and run as a separate business. Only fully merging with Greene King in 1931. Its small tied estate was mostly concentrated in the villages around Bishop’s Stortford and Saffron Walden. I tried their beer at festivals. OK, but didn’t really stand out.

beer	style	format	OG	description
BBA Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036	A well hopped "beery" beer of pleasant distinctive flavour
AK Pale Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1031	A Light Mild not unlike the Bitter
XX Mild	Mild	draught		Dark Mild
Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	keg
Keg Mild (Dagger)	Mild	keg
Pelham	Pale Ale	bottled		Light Ale
Super Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		A strong Light Ale
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		medium sweet
Dagger Brown	Brown Ale	bottled		sweeter and darker

Ridley
Chelmsford,
Essex

Founded:    1842
Closed:      2006
Tied houses:    65

Another smallish brewery north of London. Their tied estate was concentrated in central and northwest Essex. They were well-liked by CAMRA as all their pus sold cask beer, much of it straight from the wood. Bought by Greene King in 2006 and closed immediately.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1034	well hopped
Mild	Mild	draught	1030	Dark Mild
Bishop Ale	Barley Wine	draught	1080
Bitter	Pale Ale	keg	1034.3
Essex Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		Light Ale
Old Bob	Pale Ale	bottled		strong Pale Ale
Stock	Old Ale	bottled		strong dark Ale
Bishop Ale	Barley Wine	bottled	1080
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Stout	Stout	bottled

Ringwood
Ringwood,
Hampshire.

Founded:    1978
Closed:       2022
Tied houses:    0

One of the first of the new wave of breweries founded in the 1970s. I   can’t remember coming across their beers very often as I’ve never visited Hampshire. They were bought by Marston’s in 2006. One of several breweries which closed after Carlsberg took control of Marston’s brewing operations. 

beer	style	format	OG	description
Ringwood Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1040	full-bodied and hoppy
Fortyniner	Mild	draught	1049	heavy and malty

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part twenty-five)

You may notice that this set is not  quite in alphabetical order. Paine should have been the first brewery in the last set. But I forgot them. A happy result of this mistake is that the two Randalls appear next to each other.

Only one of these three is still open. Though another still operates as a pub company. All are slightly obscure, not being very well known in the 197s. Mostly for geographical reasons. Their beers didn't stray far from home. And their tied estates were all pretty small: around 20 pubs.


Paine
St. Neots,
Cambridgeshire.

Founded:    1833
Closed:            1987
Tied houses:    24

A small brewery a little north of London, Paine’s tied estate was mostly in St. Neots and the surrounding villages. They were never a great favourite of CAMRA, possibly because only half of their pubs sold cask. I have vague memories of visiting one of their pubs off the A1. But I can’t recall anything about their beer. Though I'm sure that I did try them a least once.

beer	style	format	OG	description
XXX Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1037	light Bitter with a pleasant flavour.
EG	Pale Ale	draught	1048	malty and slightly sweet
Special Mild	Mild	draught	1032	sweet
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Extra Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		strong and well hopped
Gold Medal Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		the Bitter bottled, but stronger and sweeter
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		medium sweet

Randall (Jersey)
St, Hellier,
Jersey.

Founded:    1823
Closed:            1992
Tied houses:    20

The Jersey Randall got little attention from CAMRA as they were keg only.  They had a small tied estate but most of their trade was free. At the end of the decade, they reintroduced cask beer in the form of Randall’s Real Ale, at Bitter at 1042. They ceased brewing in the early 1990s.  Still operating as a pub company.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Island Draught Beer	Pale Ale	keg		naturally conditioned , unpasteurised and well hopped. Characteristics of traditional draught rather than keg.
Grunhalle Lager	Lager	keg		conceived by Randall
Boxer Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		matured for a month, high hop rate
Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		sweetish
Grunhalle Lager	Lager	bottled

Randall (Guernsey)
St. Peter Port,
Guernsey.

Founded:    1868
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    17

How confusing was it that there were two breweries called Randall in the Channel Islands? At least they were on different islands. In contrast to the Jersey Randall, Guernsey’s version sold cask beer in most of its pubs. As their beers never made it to the mainland, I never got to taste them.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bobby Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1044	distinctive
Bobby Mild	Mild	draught	1035	dark and thin
Bobby Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	keg		high gravity
Bobbi IPA Red Top	Pale Ale	bottled		similar to Keg Bitter but with more hops
Bobby Ale	Mild	bottled		bottled XX
Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1906 Drybrough PI

We’re now at the top of the Pale Ale tree with a beer simply called PI.

At a touch over 1050º, it’s not exactly strong by the standards of the day. The strongest Pale Ale at Barclay Perkins, for example, had a gravity of 1060º. Even their Mild Ale was stronger at 1054º.

The hopping was also far lighter than in Barclay Perkins PA. A mere 5 lbs per quarter of malt (336 lbs) compared to 13 lbs in the London beer. That results in the very low for the time: just 28 (calculated) IBU.

I’m not going to get into a discussion of the recipe, as this was parti-gyled with the two beers above.

Considering it was the strongest of the set, a surprisingly large percentage of PI was brewed. In this particular parti-gyle equal quantities of all three beers were produced. But in others, up to half the volume was in the form of PI. 

1906 Drybrough PI
pale malt	8.50 lb	74.76%
flaked rice	1.00 lb	8.80%
flaked maize	0.67 lb	5.89%
No. 1 invert sugar	0.50 lb	4.40%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.67 lb	5.89%
Caramel 500 SRM	0.03 lb	0.26%
Fuggles 120 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1051
FG	1018
ABV	4.37
Apparent attenuation	64.71%
IBU	28
SRM	7.5
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Pub, pub

I rise really late. At 9:30. How I pity those doing Best of Show. They were picked up at 8.

What to have for breakfast? I know: scrambled egg and cheese. Followed by fruit. There’s a fruit juice called hog plum today. No idea what that is. It tastes quite nice, though.

A breakfast of scrambled egg, cheese,   juice and coffee.

After a while Herlinda joins me. She’s glad to have dodged judging the BOS, too. She tells me about judging the British Pie awards. I’m dead jealous.

After breakfast, I laze around in my room until checkout. When things get confusing.

Through Google Translate, the nice young woman on reception tells me that my driver is here. Which seems very early, as my fight isn’t for another 12 hours. I message Doug. Who tells me that I’m scheduled to e on a van at 19:30. Who the hell is the driver for?

The ruined church in Alagoinhas.

I plan going to the other hotel for lunch. Sharing an Uber with Herlinda. But before er head off, we learn that several judges are in Bar do Barbosa, a little place just down the road. And decide to walk there, instead. 

Bar do Barbosa with many drinkers sitting outside

It’s just 5 minutes away. Opposite the ruined church. There are already half a dozen judges there. Getting stuck into beer. We pull up chairs and join them.

I’m at one end and not totally in the shade. I try hard to keep the sun off my skin. As I have no sunscreen on.

After a while some of us move around the corner where there’s some shade. I feel like some cachaca and ask the waitress. She gives me some options. Pitu is the only name I catch. So I order that. It comes with a wedge of lemon.

I fancy a better cachaca and go inside to take a look at the bottles. I can’t really read any of them, unfortunately. The waitress passes me on to an older bloke. Who speaks pretty good English. He suggests Seleta. One aged in amburana barrels. Ooh, yes please.

“Tell me when to stop.” The old bloke says, as he starts pouring me a measure. I don’t say stop. The tumbler is almost full when he gives up.

“Stop, stop.” Charles shouts before his glass is one third full. The bloke takes a while to listen. The glass is still far emptier than mine.

Cachaca, caja and peanuts.

Joe comes around with boiled peanuts from a little stall across the road.  Later, it’s skewers of meat from another nearby stall. Quite spicy.

Kaja, sort of mini-mangos also come from the peanut woman. Very tasty. But mostly stone.

We decide to move on to Zé Café. Mostly in search of more food. Then walk to the awards ceremony from there. At least that’s the plan.

All the seating is outside. There’s nothing other than a bar counter inside.

Ze  Cafe with a waitress bringing drinks to customers seated outside.

I have some more Seleta. Some of the others have it in a caipirinha. Which I then also do. It is quite pleasant. As is the late afternoon sun beams down smiles.

We do get some food. I get barbecued cheese on a stick. Very tasty.

A caipirinha and beer outside Ze Cafe.

About 7 pm, we wander back for the awards ceremony. Not that I expect to see any of it. Our van is at 7:30. I get one of the leftover competition beers. To go with my takeaway caipirinha

I mentioned earlier that I wouldn’t mind some cachaca for the van ride. Someone has been to a supermarket and got two bottles of Seleta. Giving one to me and one to Charles. I check that mine’s OK by adding some to my caipirinha.

It’s getting on for eight when I drag Charles away to catch an Uber back to the other hotel. Where our luggage and van await.

We’re the last two of the five passengers. The ride is quite bumpy. And I get showered with cachaca a few times. It seems much quicker than the two hours it took on the way out.

As if by magic, the cachaca is just running out as we pull up at Salvador airport. Soon, my bag is checked in, I’m through security and following Charles up an escalator. Then bang. I’m flat on my back.

Charles has fallen over and onto me. My wrist has taken a knock. And hurts like fuck

“I think I’ve broken my wrist.” Fuck.

Charles seems perfectly fine. I suppose he had a soft landing.

I feel totally crap. My wrist really hurts when I make any movement. This going to be a fun journey home. Though not as bad as travelling back from Stuttgart with a broken ankle.

I’m surprised I get any sleep at all on the plane. The last 3 or 4 hours really drag. It’s hard to find a position where it doesn’t feel like hot needles are being pushed into my wrist. I’m happy when we get to Lisbon.

Changing isn’t too bad. The flight from Salvador arrived early. Leaving me in no rush. But not hanging around for hours, either. That doesn’t stop the throbbing pain in my wrist, though.

My flight to Amsterdam isn’t particularly comfortable. Not a total nightmare, either. I just want to get home. As soon as possible.

My bag doesn’t take too long to pop out. I manage to manoeuvre my bags onto a trolley and roll it out to a taxi.

Dolores is surprised when I appear at the door.

“I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow.”

No, today. Where’s my cup of tea?”

“I didn’t think you’d be back today.”

“No tea, then.”

“Let me take a look at your wrist.”

“Do you think it’s broken?”

“Can you move your fingers?”

“Yes.”

“Then it isn’t.””

“Are you sure? Because it really hurts.”

“That’s what the internet says.”

“Must be true, then. Tea?” *



Bar do Barbosa
244, R. Mf Alves, 236
Alagoinhas Velha, Alagoinhas
BA.


Bar Zé Café
Inocoop II
R. Dois, 387
Alagoinhas Velha, Alagoinhas
BA, 48030-310.

* My wrist was broken.

Disclaimer: my flights, hotels and most meals were paid for by the Brazilian International Beer Awards.

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part twenty-four)

It's been a while since the last post in this series. Not that I'd abandonned it. Just caught up in lots of travel. I've also had to work out how consult physical books without buggering my broken wrist.

Three breweries, as usual. Only one of which is still around. The other two were quite ephemeral, being founded in the 1970s and closing in the early 1980s. I was surprised at just how brief their life was. Though this wasn't atypical of the first cohort of new breweries. Without the cushion of tied houses, survival was difficult for these new brewers. It's no coincidence that some of those which managed to hang around longer did assemble a small tied estate,

Palmer
Bridport,
Dorset.

Founded:    1794
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    65

Palmer was a small brewery in the Southwest of England.  Their tied estate was concentrated in Bridport and surrounding area, stretching over into Devon. Like many breweries in the region, they brewed no Mild. Instead, they made a “Boy’s Bitter”: a low-gravity Pale Ale, that was somewhat akin to a Pale Mild. They weren’t greatly loved by CAMRA as most of their pubs served beer on top pressure. Not outright keg, but cask served using CO2.

beer	style	format	OG	description
BB	Pale Ale	draught	1030.4	well balanced with a malty flavour
IPA	IPA	draught	1039.5	stronger version of BB
Shilthorn	Lager	keg	1041.4
Light Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
IPA	IPA	bottled		stronger than Light Pale Ale
Tally Ho	Strong Ale	bottled
Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		medium sweet
Extra Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet

Penrhos
Kington,
Herefordshire.

Founded:    1977
Closed:            1983
Tied houses:    0

One of the first of the new wave of breweries, Penrhos was part-owned by Terry Jones of Monty Python. Their beer was a regular at the Great British Beer Festival and was more reliable than most that of most new breweries. Notable for helping revive Porter in England. Sadly, they weren’t around for long.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Jones's First Brew	Pale Ale	draught	1050	malty, lightly hops
Penrhos Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1040	bitter

Pollard
Stockport,
Greater Manchester.

Founded:    1975
Closed:            1982
Tied houses:    0

Another early new brewery, Pollard’s decision to brew in Greater Manchester might not have been the greatest. Given the area it was already home to many small, independent breweries and a very competitive market. Their beer was pretty good and in the Northwestern style.

beer	style	format	OG	description
John Barleycorn	Pale Ale	draught	1036	malty

 

Judging and talking

I rise at 7 AM. Feeling rather knacked. Again. Despite going to bed at a sensible hour.

A different breakfast this morning. As there’s no scrambled egg. Instead, they have couscous. What the fuck is that about? It just isn’t the same. They have a similar colour, but that’s about all they have in common. Still fruit for pudding, mind.

A  breakfast of couscous, cheese, juice and coffee.

I’m judging with Rudolfo Rebelo. And Tara. Though she’s off giving a lecture initially.

We start with non-alcoholic beers. Oh no.

“I judged alcohol-free beers ten years ago. They were all terrible. They all tasted like unfermented wort.” I remark before we get started.

The technology seems to have really improved. None of the beers has that horrible worty flavour. To be honest, though, most taste pretty much like water. But at least they don’t taste horrible. Quite a nice ginger beer gets gold.

“It reminds me of the ginger beer my Mum used to make.” I comment.

American-style fruited sour next. I was dreading this flight almost as much as the alcohol-free one. Unnecessarily, as it turns out. There are some really good beers and no really terrible ones. Which was quite a surprise.

American fruited sours samples.

We’re starting to rattle through the flights. Quite painlessly, too. Until now.

It’s the turn of American Light Lager. In a mini BOS. They certainly live up to their name. They’re all very light. Not the most fun to judge. But at least none of them taste nasty.

Time for lunch. A buffet, obviously. I have salad and meat again. I’ll leave all the carbs to the Brazilians. And they’re eager to oblige, piling up mountains of rice.

A buffet lunch with chicken, salad and rice.

In the garden between the judging room and the lunch room, a small beer festival has set up. Not that I’m indulging in any of them now. I need to keep my palate fresh. 

Courtyard beer festival

It’s another mini BOS: Munich Helles. Ah, these beers again. Tara has turned up to join in. I prefer three judges to two. More opinions are always better.

English IPA. One of my favourite styles. Only joking.

“It’s a style made up by Americans, based on what they thought an English IPA should be like. Not beers actually brewed in England.”

There are a couple of decent beers. And some weird ones. It could have been worse.   English style beers are often, for some reason, very poor in competitions.

My palate is starting to go. I eat a banana to try to clean it up a bit. With partial success.

At least it’s a subtle style next. American Imperial Stout. If my palate wasn’t already blown, it is now. Fortunately, most of the examples are pretty good

Schwarzbier next. They’re going to taste like water after the last flight.

I’ve only had time to take a single sip when I’m called away to give my talk.

When I get to the lecture room, Charles has about 10 minutes of his. It’s about beer in Asia and is fascinating/ I never realised small-scale brewing was illegal in Thailand.

I’m speaking about Berliner Weisse. One of the reasons I chose it is that it’s not too long. No risk of overrunning. Which I don’t.

The audience for my talk.

Things go reasonably well. But I’m exhausted by the end.

As I’m walking back to the judging room through the beer festival, one of the brewers rushes up to me and offers me a beer.

“I have to collect my stuff first. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” I’m not going to  turn down free beer.

They’ve finished judging the Schwarzbier. And are on the next flight. I contemplate rejoining Rudolfo and Tara in judging. Then realise it’s a bad idea. I’m knackered and my palate is shot.

Beer festival by night

I return to the beer festival. And take up the brewer’s beer offer. In the form of a Session IPA. It’s quite nice.

“Do you like moonshine?”

“Yes.”

What a silly question. I like all spirits. Other than that vile Chinese stuff. That’s undrinkable.

“I had a Saison that was too phenolic, so I distilled it.”

“Good thinking.”

It’s still quite rough. But warming. Which I like. I need some fire in my belly.  Moonshine will do quite nicely.

Beer and moonshine.

I go and sit on a bench by myself. As I’m feeling knacked. And just need to rest a little. A couple of people come over to check that I’m OK.

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”

After a bit of a rest, I mingle with some other judges. Before eating at 7:30 PM. Guess what it is – another fucking buffet. I make sure to eat lots of salad.

Bottle  share in  the hotel.

After a few more beers, we head back to our hotel. For the bottle share. Mostly of my bottles. Cooper’s Stout, Adnams Charter Ale and Lindemans Faro. All are at least 30 years old.

We start with the last. Which, being a Lambic, is still in pretty good condition. Very sweet, but that’s just the style.

The Adnams next. It’s oxidised. But in a good way. It’s all dried fruit and sherry. Drinkable, but very different to when it went the bottle.

The Cooper’s is also oxidised. Though the roast makes it less dramatic.

Herlinda has a fresh bottle of Pliny the Elder. Which is very different to my beers. Very good, though.

After a glass of nice port, it’s time for me to turn in. While most of the others continue drinking.

By the time I’ve polished the last of my hotel cachaca, it’s pushing midnight. Time for bed. Even though I can lie in tomorrow.